By Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said he “100%” supports raising sanctions on Russian oil producers if the future president requests doing so.
Bessent told U.S. senators on the Senate Finance Committee that he believes the Russian sanctions from the Biden administration “were not fulsome enough.”
“I think if any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I’m confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up –especially on the Russian oil majors — to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table,” Bessent said.
The nominee also said “the tragedy going on in Ukraine is one of the greatest tragedies of my adult life, and ending that as soon as possible — and any role that Treasury can play in, that if confirmed, I would like to do.”
(Reporting by Bo Erickson)
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